Stealer of the Stars
by Rabid Harle Plushie
Summary: ^^ A short and sweet story about Riruka proclaiming her love to Ashley, and rejection. Wa2 ^^ :P And in my opinoin, quite wierd :D


**Stealer of the Stars  
**by: Rabid Harle Plushie

Heyaz! ^^ I honestly appreciate your time for reading this fanfic!! ^^; I'm a big Ashley x Riruka (i.e.: Lilka, but I prefer to call her by her original Japanese name) fan!! I mean--HUGE. ^^ (I cant stand Marina... URG ^^) ... They did interact a bit, so I'm going to write a story, and its so obvious Riruka has a crush/love for Ashley!! : P So.. ^^ Since I feel like writing something angsty-- I wrot this : D Enjoy! It takes place 1 year after the game has ended ^^   
**Wub, RHP ^^**

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Riruka lay in her bed--restless... it was the bleating night at Seilje... those cold, frigid Seilje nights. Riruka hated them. Maybe it was something in the cold, or the sound of snowflakes tapping on the window of her bedroom... but, it always made her think of... him. The man she loved, dreamed about... Ashley Winchester. Even after it being a whole year since she last saw his strong physique, his gentle emerald eyes, which she found her soul drawn into--she couldn't stop thinking about him... she also couldn't pull up the nerve to tell him, those painful three words which her mouth yearned to speak to him--"I love you"...

Riruka tossed in her bed once more...   
_"Why... Why can't I just tell him?"_, Lilka thought to herself. She was beginning to resent herself for not telling him... she hadn't even tried to tell him... _"and now..."_, she thought, _"he's probably with Marina... I'm too late... I'm way too late..."_ Lilka let a quiet stream of tears roll down her smooth cheek. For once, she just let them flow... freely. She was trembling..  
It broke her attitude.. the tom-boyish, clumsy, ditzy Riruka. She, at this moment, didn't care about upholding that. She just wanted... to be loved.   
The snow kept pelting down, and her dark, dimly lit room only seemed to be getting darker. Her tears kept falling, as she pulled the warm covers off of her bed, and let chill overcome her. Her barefoot feet met with the cold floor...   
_"Even if he doesn't love me back... I must tell him... I must tell him that... I love him.."_   


Riruka walked to one of her dressers, and opened up a drawer.   
_"Where are they?"_, Riruka thought. Her small hands rummaged until she came across a small pouch. Her heart beat fast--whether it was from yearning, or from nervousness, she did not know. Nor did she care. Her cold hands gently untied the bow holding the contents inside the pouch to reveal glowing green crystals, called Teleport Gems. She cupped two gems in her hand firmly, and gently tied up the pouch, and put it back in the drawer.   
  
Riruka walked outside. Bare-footed, her hair down--in a slight disarray, and in nothing but a simple nightgown---she didn't care. She didn't even notice the cold snow, up against her, or the chill, neither the snowflakes flowing in her face. Her heart and her head were focused on a place---a place with the gentle smell of bread, jellyrolls, and sweet delights. A place with a fountain of running cold, pure, water. A place with a castle, adorning and shadowing the city... A place, where the fresh smell of baked bred ran through the city, where a smile glistened onto everyone's face. The town of Meria. The place where HE lived, the place where Marina lived. The one place where her true love resided.   
The crystal lay warm in the palm of her hand, as she focused as hard as she could, and her soul was lifted, as a trail of sparkles arose in the air, glistening into the cold night sky of Seilje, her body being transfered to the place she had known so well. As she opened her green eyes, she felt her soul go down--she was careening back and forth between her emotions.  
"I must tell Ashley I love him...", she whimpered to herself. "Before its to late."  
Marina's warm face came to her mind, and she grimaced. As sweet as Marina was, she couldnt help but to hate her. She hated the way Ashley always looked at her warmly. She hated the way he wrapped his arms around her in a warm embrace. She hated the way that whenever she thought Ashley loved her, Marina was brought up, and her hopes were crushed, like a mirror crashing to the floor, shattering into thousands of peices, inconceivably impossible to piece back together again. She had to tell him, so that the pang in her heart would subside, and the slepless nights would go away. She needed him.   
"What am I going to do?", Riruka pondered to herself, in a dismal. "Should I tell him?"  
She gathered all her strength, and walked slowly, the stoned floor of Meria bare against her feet, as she picked up a pebble, and threw it gently into Ashely's window, with great apprehension.  
"Here goes....", She thought. Her love needed to be told.  
"Ashley!", she whispered hoarsley.  
No response.  
"Ashely??", she whispered a little more audibly, throwing another pebble at his window, and, the eerie silence broke, as ruffling noises occured, and the window to his room slid open, with a slight creak, gazing down in shock at the girl below. "Riruka?!", he said, eyes wide, taken aghast.  
"Ashley!" Without words, Ashley quickly ran down the stairs in his small bakery-house, to meet the girl outside, it had been so long since he last saw the cheerful Riruka. About a year. Or more, he pondered. What was she doing over in Meria?? At this hour?   
"Riruka! What are you doing here?! I havent seen you in over a year...", Ashley said apprehensivley, feeling quite uncomftorable, as a blush ran up to Riruka's cheeks.  
He noticed the beautiful girl in front of him was only clad in a nightgown, and being utterly silent. She was one of his best friends--many secrets had been shared and told, and so many jokes shared. His friendship for her was strong--and he missed her much.  
_"Why is she here? And this late?"_, thoughts streamed back in forth in Ashley's mind, as Riruka walked towards the fountain, in a hushed whisper.  
An eerie silence resumed as Ashley and Riruka looked up at the stars.  
"They sure are pretty around here, arent they?", she put on a smile.  
"You didnt come all this way to tell me about the stars, Riruka... please, tell me, whats happening?"  
"There's something I need to tell you..", her voice was weak, and Ashely followed, sitting on the rim of the fountain, he looked straight into her eyes.  
"What is it...?", he said gently, raising her chin, as Riruka turned away. "It has to be urgently important.... Especially if you havent even seen me in a year.."  
He gazed upon her cheeks, noticing dried tears, her eyes wet, looking like a serene pool. "I-I.... Ashley...." Riruka twidled her thumbs, as Ashley put his arm around her.  
"Tell me..", he said, confused, even more.  
The two friends sat at the fountain, staring straight into each others eyes. The cheer in Riruka's eyes were gone. Something seemed wrong.  
"I've been having so many restless nights...." She paused. "There's a confession I have to make to you..", She said Frankly.  
"What Riruka...?", his green eyes curious.  
The moonlight reflected into the shallow pools of water, by the fountain, as silence protruded again. There were no words. All was quiet, except for water flowing, when Riruka bent near Ashley, wrapping her arms around his neck, into a warm embrace, as she brushed her lips softly against his. She kissed him once more, with all the passion, and the flames she held inside for so long, and collapsed into his arms.  
"Ashley... I love you."  
What had suprised her is that he didnt pull away. He stayed right where he was, silent.  
A single tear streamed down her cheek, as Ashley let a tear flow, too.  
"Im sorry Riruka...", He mumbled. "I dont feel the same...."  
The words crushed her. Even though he didnt mean the words to hurt, they pounded on her... He looked away at the girl in his arms, stroking his her hair softly, to comfort her tears.. "I have to stay loyal to Marina... Riruka.... I-I never saw you as anything more than my closest, deepest, best friend.. I love you, but... I can't love you like that... Oh Riruka..."  
Riruka raised her head, and her eyes became level with his, and he pulled her into a warm embrace, heartbeat against hearbeat, where only love was shared.  
"Just let me stay like this... just for a little while."  
The two stayed like that, as Lilka sobbed quietly. She knew she wouldnt get the answer she wanted. All she wanted was his love. His warm embrace. And if this was as close to his heart as she could get, it would have to do---sometimes love doesnt know mercy.  
"I promise you Riruka... I'll always be with you..." he said. "I dont want to see you sad like this... I want cheery Riruka back."  
"Me too, Ashley... Thanks so much for letting me get that off my chest... I appreciate it...", she gently kissed his cheek, and grabbed the teleport gem into her hands, waved him goodbye, and went quietly back to Seilje. Even if she didnt have him, she was happy, and peace. She could finally move on, past the handsome young man she had fallen inlove with, and could never have. She had reached for the stars, and had not reached them, but, peace subsided. She was happy at last--ready for love to grab her again.   
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^^ Damn ^^ Thats depressing ^^ ;D I promise to write a happy fic where they end up together, XD but, :D Love doesnt always work that way... :P Its too bad Ashley is stuck with Marina :P Blurgh :D Well! ^^ Any C and C is welcome ^^;; So! ^^ Thankyou for reading! ^_^ 


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